Displayed inside a display cabinet on the elevated floor of the Melbourne Cricket Ground rests a neon pink outfit performed in by Robbie Williams. His performance in front of 100,024 spectators was seen as a success.
Perhaps you don't like the performer. Perhaps you believe he is the finest offering to music known to man. You might take a reasonable stance, conceding that some songs are belting while others are awful.
The central idea is that entertainment can be delivered diversely. Preferences differ. There is not a single method to craft literature or even five-day cricket.
The Incomparable Variety of The Test Format
The traditional format boasts incomparable variety. It is hard to think of another sport where the playing is so dependent on external factors.
The climate, the time of day, the red ball – the variables are numerous. Most important is the pitch.
If Test cricket is a form of art, the wicket is the blank slate on which the athletes craft their legacy.
A Test of Cubism: The Melbourne Spectacle
The fourth Ashes Test between the old rivals was Test cricket cubism, the established format taken to pieces and reconstructed in abstract form.
This is not a defence of the surface which produced a win and the another sub-three-day finish of the series.
Having 10mm of grass on the pitch, leading to 36 wickets being taken in less than two days, is not an even battle between batter and bowler.
A Diverse Legacy: The Essence of Test Cricket
But any notion this was a diminished spectacle, one that should be marked with an asterisk as illegitimate, is incorrect.
Test cricket is a diverse canvas, 2,615 parts and ongoing. On occasion, as witnessed recently, the ball does all sorts for the pace bowlers. Other times, it spins sharply on a dry surface. At other venues, the pitch is dead, other times it explodes.
The thrillers are all the more thrilling because of the investment made during quieter periods.
Adjustment: The True Test
Some factors are tolerated more readily than others.
The debate in at the MCG was that the equilibrium was skewed excessively towards the attack. That the top batters were hindered from playing their natural game.
The format is about finding solutions – reading the situation and responding effectively. The top two individual scores were made by acknowledged players. One side was less disciplined than the other, and thus lost.
Unbridled Joy: For Those Who Waited
Attempt to convince the devotees who have endured 18 winless matches that this was not entertaining.
In a corner of the MCG, a sea of people made noise and chanted, fostering a carnival vibe in a bastion of national pride.
There was hope as the bowlers excelled, advantage when batters responded, and pure joy when the result was achieved.
Polar Opposites: The Variety of Test Matches
The MCG has form with pitch problems. Eight years ago, a game there featured a pitch with the character of a pulled Christmas cracker.
That fixture was a slog, with few wickets and interminable tedium. The latest encounter and that slow Test are diametrically opposed points of the spectrum – one is not more the standard, yet value can be attached to each.
Deep into the series into the ongoing battle, it is the quick finishes that will be most remembered in the collective consciousness.
"Far from being the death of the format at all," said a former player. "The people who have been privileged to see these 48 hours have been experienced some fantastic sport. Different entertainment."
Baby Steps: Building for the Future
In the lead-in to this match, the leader addressed the media like a man carrying the heavy burden on his back.
The squad responded for him, reinstating the positive demeanor to his countenance.
New faces delivered with key contributions. These are incremental gains, not nearly enough to secure long-term success, but a starting point to build on.
Ultimately, this triumph joins other memorable performances in dead rubbers.
As the supporters slipped away into a beautiful night, the players gathered on the field to start their own enjoyment.
Savour the moment, men. It's well deserved.
